Pray for Churches Seeking Pastors or in the Discernment Process:

Community Church

of Issaquah, Mount

Zion Baptist Church,

First Baptist

Church—Mountlake

Terrace, Washington

Kachin Baptist

Church, Fremont

Baptist Church, and

Filipino-American

Christian Fellowship

First Baptist Church—Palo Alto Closes

2

2019 Annual Meeting Regis-tration Form

3

Panther Lake Vacation Bible Camp

3

Prayers Requested 4

2019 Annual Meeting Lodg-ing Information

4

Japanese Baptist Church’s 120th Anniversary Banquet

5

Seattle First Baptist Kicks off 150th Anniversary Cele-bration

6

Pray for Nzunga & Kihomi—Missionaries in Haiti

7

Inside this Issue

October 2019

Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches

Volume 18, Issue 10

Evergreen Notes

CLERGY LEADERS and FAMILIES ARE INVITED

to a Pre-Annual Meeting

Informal gathering with conversation time, snacks and the Re-Forming of the

Evergreen Ministers’ Council

Thursday, October 10, 2019, 6:30 PM

Queen Anne Baptist Church, 2011 First Avenue N

Seattle 98109

Evergreen Annual Meeting Mass Choir Rehearsals:

Saturday, September 28th and

Saturday, October 5, 2019,

12 Noon

Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1635 19th Avenue, Seattle WA

Your Voice is Needed; Join Us!

Officially, the First Baptist

Church of Palo Alto was

started in 1893, the same

year the city of Palo Alto

came into being, 126 years

ago now. But you know how

much I like to tell the tale of

our “kissin’ cousins” from

Mayfield. That little group of

Baptists were so determined

to have a church that they

started one in a vacant

saloon. Remember, the

village of Mayfield, at the

time, had seventeen saloons

and no church?

They closed that congregation

when all the action moved to

Palo Alto with the advent of

Stanford University. All

kinds of workers were needed

to help build the new school.

But it was pretty much that

same group of intrepid

Baptists from Mayfield who

held the first worship service

in the new town, under the

old oak trees up on Lytton

Avenue. Even then, they

were open-minded and open-

hearted Baptists. That first

service was ecumenical.

The Presbyterians and

Methodists got the jump on

us in actually founding

churches because Baptists in

California didn’t have the

funds to seed a new

congregation at the time. It

wasn’t until the railroad

chapel car, Emmanuel, rolled

into town that the Baptists

First Baptist Church Palo Alto Closes Pastor Rick Mixon

were able to organize a church

and hold its first official

services. If I’m making up any

of this history, I pray

Professor Dixon, Dr. Clausen,

Ella Loder, and Lucille

Lundquist will forgive me.

We’ve come a long way from

those early days, but those are

our roots, a rich heritage.

We’ve come this far by faith,

faith planted by those early

Baptists, who believed the

Good News needed to be

shared right here in Palo Alto.

Now here we are, 126 years

later (or, I would argue 128.

Gotta’ give those Mayfield

Baptists their due!) wrapping

up what those faithful folk

started so long ago. When we

will admit it, we know that

death is part of life. In time,

everything and everyone

comes to an end and it

appears our time has come. I

know there are congregations

that have lived longer, but

120 some years is a pretty

good run. We have a heritage

of which we can be proud.

We have chosen to end things

now, while we can still make

decisions consciously and

responsibly about our legacy.

We got the terminal diagnosis

last fall after our consultant

spent a lot of time talking

with us and assessing the

state of our life together.

We’re not yet on life support

but we don’t have the energy

to keep things going in the

way that our forebears

imagined

and that we

would like.

It was not

at all an

easy

decision to

make, but it

is one we

made

together.

First Baptist Palo Alto has

never fully achieved the city

of God. We have not

completely realized God’s

beloved community on the

corner of Bryant and North

Carolina, though God knows

we’ve tried. Still, we have

given it our best effort and

there is much to be

celebrated in that

realization. There is

important legacy in

recognizing and

remembering that.

We have come this far – not

on our own – but through

faith in the One who holds

both the future and, perhaps

more importantly today,

holds our hands. We will live

on in that same faith,

looking to God who is the

author and finisher of our

faith, grateful for what we

have yet to share and

hopeful for what lies ahead

for each and all of us. Amen.

Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 2

Rev. Randle Mixon

Pastor FBC Palo Alto

Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 3

EVERGREEN ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCHES

2019 ANNUAL MEETING REGISTRATION

October 11-12, 2019

Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1634 19th Avenue, Seattle, WA

Host Pastor: Rev. James O. Stallings, Interim Minister

Theme: FREE THE CAPTIVES (Luke 4:18)

Guest Preacher: Rev. Dr. Priscilla E. Eppinger,

Executive Director, American Baptist Historical Society

NAME _________________________________________________________________________________

STREET ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________________

CITY/STATE/ZIP _________________________________________________________________________

TELEPHONE _____________________________________________

EMAIL ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________________

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP____________________________________________________________________

REGISTRATION FEE [Required] $15.00 $15.00

Friday lunch $10.00 ______

Friday Dinner $15.00 ______

Saturday lunch $10.00 ______

Saturday Dinner $15.00 ______

TOTAL ENCLOSED $_______

___ I need child care for children of these ages: ______________________________________________

___ I have special meal needs (Please let us know if you need vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.

Selections.) ____________________________________________________________________

___ I need interpretation (Circle one) Burmese Spanish ASL (We will do our best to provide it.)

___I need quiet/sensory space. (We will do our best to provide it.)

Limited Scholarships are available. Contact Doug at 253-859-2226. Deadline: Thursday, Oct 3rd, 5 PM

Please submit a separate registration form for each person attending. Checks may be combined for more than one person’s fees. Return completed form(s) with check or money order payable to

Evergreen Association—ABC, 409 Third Avenue S, Suite A, Kent WA 98032, or register online at

http://www.ea-abc.org/annual-meeting.html

Volume 18, Issue 10 Page 4

Evergreen Annual Meeting Lodging Information October 11—12, 2019

For a discounted hotel rate, follow the instructions below to reserve your room at the Silver Cloud Hotel:

ONLINE BOOKING LINK: FIRSTBAPTIST

1. Select arrival and departure dates and input the number of guests.

2. Click “Search for Availability.

3. Click “Reserve” for your preferred room type.

4. Enter all guest information: . Name, Address, Phone & Email

5. Comments: Provide estimated check-in/out time. Special Requests, etc.

6. Click Agree to hotel policies.

7. Click Make Reservation and a confirmation email will be sent automatically.

PHONE RESERVATIONS

Call the hotel directly at 201-325-1400, ask for the First Baptist Church account, and a guest ser-vice agent will assist with booking your reservation.

CHANGES:

Should you need to change, cancel or update a reservation, please email desk@broadwaysilvercloud.com or call 206-325-1400 and one of our guest service agents will be glad to assist you.

Silver Cloud Hotel Broadway

1100 Broadway

Seattle WA 98122

Prayers Requested for

Rev. Dr. David Simpkins, his wife, the Rev. Terri Simpkins and their families. We’ve received word that Dave is in hospice care.

ABSW SAYS THANK YOU

We are in receipt of a letter dated September 18, 2019 which reads in part:

“...We have received your gift in the amount of $542.25 to the Seminary Fund… Your support as well as the support of the members of Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches benefit our students as they prepare themselves to follow their call to service in the church, community, and the world...”

James E. Brenneman, President (Signature on file)

Note: Four percent of mission dollars received go to support ABSW monthly

Page 5 Volume 18, Issue 10

Japanese Baptist Church—120th Anniversary Year Celebration Banquet September 14, 2019, Hyatt Regency, Renton WA

We had a wonderful time connecting with JBC friends new and old. We are thankful for all the

wonderful stories that God has written in our community and for the stories to come! We were

so blessed by you all.

Evergreen Notes Page 6

Please give online. Visit www.ea-abc.org and click on “Give”.

Thank you for your continued support!

Seattle First Baptist Church

Kicks Off 150th Church Anniversary Celebration

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Page 7 Evergreen Notes

Kihomi and Nzunga serve as a

vital link between

International Ministries and

the Haitian Baptist

Convention. They preach in

churches and serve through a

variety of ministries. Nzunga

teaches theology at the

Christian University of

Northern Haiti, trains

assistant professors and

administers a scholarship

program for elementary-

through university-age

students. He manages the

goat and pig projects for

children, the clean water

project for communities and

the Cap-Haitian Eye Clinic.

Kihomi works in counseling,

women’s health, community

health evangelism and

economic development. She

coordinates and advises the

women’s association of the

convention, representing

women of all the Baptist

denominations of Haiti at

international conferences.

They write –

“Dear Loved Ones,

Greetings and may God bless

your summer wherever you are

now.  I taught Emmanuel

Geurrier when she was in her

freshman year. One day I

asked her to explain something

to the whole class. This girl got

up, went to the front of class

and demanded the attention of

her classmates as if she were a

teacher of that class. She spoke

very well-much better than I

could explain. 

Since that time, I said to

myself that this girl can

have a future in the

academic world, but the

authorities here

pay little attention to her.

Emmanuel Guerrier speaks

French fluently compared to

many of her classmates. 

Since that time I have

closely followed her progress

in her studies of agronomy

science. From time to time I

would meet and encourage

her to aim high.

Before I presented my idea

of working with her as my

assistant in my freshman

class, her dean, the dean of

the school of Agronomy,

asked her to be an assistant

to him in agronomy classes.

My prayers have been

answered and my dream has

come true. Emmanuel has

now joined the rank

of female professors who

rightly deserve to be

teaching in higher levels

because of their merits. She

presented and defended an

excellent Bachelor Thesis on

the production of Honey.

For two years, she was

involved in studying how

to raise honeybees and

produce honey of high

quality. The sample we all

tasted was of high quality. 

Emmanuel Guerrier has

gone now from “my student

to my colleague professor”.

All praises and glories to

God who uses us all as his

instruments. Thank you all

for your love, your support

and your prayers.  We

deeply appreciate your

letters, your cards and your

emails. They energize us to

continue doing what God

has sent us to do in Haiti.”

In Haiti,

Nzunga & Kihomi

Pray for Nzunga and Kihomi— Missionaries in Haiti

Ready for Japanese Baptist Church’s

120th Anniversary Celebration!

Executive Committee meets monthly on the second Thurs-

day each month at 6:30 PM, Japanese Baptist Church.

October 10, 2019: Pre-Annual Meeting Clergy and

Family Gathering at Queen Anne Baptist Church, 6:30

PM. Evergreen Ministers’ Council being Re-Formed

October 11—12, 2019: Annual Meeting, hosted by Mount

Zion Baptist Church, Seattle

During Annual Meeting: October 11 and 12, 2019—Asian

Caucus Sponsored Craft Fair Fundraiser.

November 10, 2019: Faith Action Network (FAN) Annual

Fundraising Dinner, Renton Pavilion. Info at fanwa.org

Early 2020—Euro Caucus Sponsored Fundraiser. Plans

are underway.

MISSION STATEMENT

Being a culturally diverse peo-

ple who are one in Christ and

who value the liberties of our

American Baptist Heritage, the

Evergreen Baptist Association

will

Build bridges between

communities;

Provide resources to equip

member churches to share

Christ and teach God’s word;

and

Translate our unity to the

world.

Building Bridges, Resourcing Churches & Translating Our Unity

Calendar of Upcoming Events

409 Third Avenue S, Suite A Kent WA 98032-5843

Phone:253-859-2226 E-mail: eba@ea-abc.org

Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches

Evergreen Notes, published monthly, is

the newsletter for member churches, ecu-

menical partners, national affiliates, and

friends of the Evergreen Association of

American Baptist Churches.

Please submit articles by the 20th of the

month prior to expected publication.

You are encouraged to copy and/or reprint

information and articles.

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Organization

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Rev. Douglas Avilesbernal

Executive Minister